Charlie Hall, Northwestern after first March Madness game: 'Wow, we did it'

When history is made, USA TODAY Sports tries to be on the ground level. So we asked Northwestern walk-on basketball player Charlie Hall to be a correspondent, chronicling the Wildcats’ first NCAA tournament experience throughout the first week of the Big Dance. Hall is the son of comedic stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall, both Northwestern graduates who attend as many games as possible to support their son.

When we went down one, I think with around a minute left or two minutes left, all of us were thinking, “This can’t happen. We’ve really played so well the whole time. We can’t let this slip away.’ And then we didn’t. And Dererk (Pardon) hit those huge free throws down the stretch. I think those free throws were perhaps the most nerve-racking moments of my entire life — in terms of basketball.

There was a ton of dancing, whenever we could, on the bench. The bench tends to dance more when we get nervous. Because we’re nervous, but also because you have to keep the spirits and energy high. We also lock arms — around three minutes left — and we basically stay like that the rest of the game. We knock on the hardwood whenever anyone is about to shoot a free throw on our team to give them a little good luck. …

I get really nervous about early celebrations. Even if there’s a second left. So I was adamantly telling Tino (Malnati) and Aaron (Falzon) not to celebrate just yet. I just feel like, well, anything can happen in March. If I’ve learned anything from March it’s that the game is never, ever over. Even though there was a second left it was only a one-possession game. It’s still really up in the air to a certain extent. Once he hit the two free throws and I saw them pass it in, it was going to have to be a full-court shot … and I let my guard down.

I realized, ‘Wow, we did it.’ The pure sense of elation washed over me. It was so incredible. We did what we said we wanted to do. We didn’t just come here to be here. And I think that’s what we showed (Thursday).

(Coach Chris Collins), of course, was super intense during the game, but I’ve never seen a person that enjoys winning more — and he totally can soak in a win and enjoy it. So, obviously this is a huge win, one of the biggest wins in program history — if not the biggest.

We’ve splashed him with water before but that smile on his face and just jumping up and down was perhaps the most jovial, most excited I’ve seen him. He was probably the most excited out of everybody. Which makes sense; it was such a tight game, and so well-coached. …

When got back to the hotel after the game, there was a huge reception of fans. The band was playing, and everyone’s family was there. It was really awesome. But I’m already hearing talk of Gonzaga, and I think that this win gave us a ton of confidence. So I think that we’re definitely going to be ready for Saturday.